At first glance, the season bests in points and three-point accuracy jump out in UW-Milwaukee's 87-79 victory over Detroit on Saturday night at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

But it was the defense -- especially late -- that had coach Pat Baldwin beaming afterward.

The Panthers tightened the screws on the Titans in the second half, limiting them to just 32.3% from the floor over the final 20 minutes, one field goal over the final 8 minutes 25 seconds and two points over the final 5:17 in moving to 1-1 in Horizon League play.

"In order to be a very good team, you have to dig in and find it from within to try to get as many stops as you can, and it starts with that first one," said Baldwin, who knows a thing or two about defense himself after being named the Big Ten's defensive player of the year for 1993-'94 while playing guard at Northwestern.

"Our guys were really locked in late. The team that wound up getting more stops at the end was going to win this game, and our guys certainly did that."

Detroit (4-11, 0-2), which entered on an eight-game losing streak and with just two Division I victories to its credit on the season, shot 54.3% in the first half and was even with UWM (8-7) well into the second half before a pair of Brett Prahl free throws with 6:45 remaining put the Panthers ahead to stay at 75-73.

The Titans managed three field goals over the final 11:33 and only Tariiq Jones's layup with 5:50 remaining kept them from being shut out from the floor for nearly the final 8 1/2 minutes.

"It's a group effort, and it takes everybody to sit down and defend," said Jeremiah Bell, who led UWM's potent offensive attack with an 18-point outing.

"Communication is a big part of it. We just told ourselves going into the huddle we've got to take some pride in our defense and man up and stop the man in front of you."

UWM also shot a season-high 35 free throws, one more than it had in its last three games combined. The Panthers hit just 23, but getting to the charity line that often offers a number of positives for a team.

"Sometimes your best defense is good offense; we got to the foul line 35 times," Baldwin said. "We want to make more, but that slows down their transition. It limits their opportunities and allows us to get our defense set."

Brock Stull added 17 points and freshman Carson Warren-Newsome scored a career-high 13 as the Panthers once again utilized a balanced offensive attack. Nine players scored in all and six connected from long range, as UWM's total of 12 three-pointers fell one shy of tying a season high.

Bryce Nze, ejected from the Panthers' loss on Thursday to Oakland, was held out of the starting lineup but still managed to produce with eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists before fouling out in 25 minutes of action.

Gaining a split to open Horizon League play was a necessity for UWM, which now embarks on a tough five-game road swing. The Panthers won't return home until Jan. 18.

"We have to take that road warrior mentality with us," Baldwin said. "It's just about us, and we have to create our own energy. Then it's the poise and the composure you have when you're on the road.

"I think we've been battle-tested a little bit as we've gone through this year, playing at Iowa State and Belmont. Our guys have faced it, and we just have to stick together and be locked in on everything we're doing.

"But we're not afraid of it; we know other teams have the same thing on the flip side. Our guys are tough. We have to embrace it."

With eight victories, UWM has already tied its regular-season total from 2016-'17 with 16 games left to play.